EDITOR WES RAYNAL: This is a refined and comfy sedan, and with 300 hp, it's borderline sporty with so little turbo lag. The chassis is rock solid, and the AWD means it will go darn near anywhere.

The car looks good to my eye inside and out, and I appreciate the fine materials throughout the cabin. The seats are very comfortable.

It's not as silky as a BMW 3-series and not as good-looking as an Audi A4, though. In my opinion, it falls a little bit short of both cars.

The safety stuff can be annoying, the bright red strip of lights across the top of the dash seemed hypersensitive to me, and the lane-departure warning screams much too loudly, though I know you can it turn it off.

Overall, this is a fairly satisfying car to drive, but I wouldn't take this Volvo over the aforementioned 3-series or an A4 just yet. More seat time is required.

EXECUTIVE EDITOR--AUTOWEEK.COM BOB GRITZINGER: I think Volvo is on the right track with this styling, inside and out. Even my 16-year-old son, who doesn't offer too many opinions, found his voice to say the car looked futuristic and cool. I agree. This company has done a great job of going from boxy to artsy in less than a decade, with the floating center console and the chiseled yet flowing exterior lines. And the orange paint is exceptional. Good stuff.

I also enjoyed ripping around with the solid turbo six-cylinder providing the power--this engine really pulls and gets this block of steel up to speed in a hurry. The chassis is solid and steady, with good steering and brakes.

The safety stuff can be annoying--the red "closing distance" bar and lane-departure beeps can be more than you need if you're even half alert at the wheel. But a slightly dialed-back version of that collision warning could be really handy for those times where you are inevitably distracted just as someone stabs the brakes right in front of you for no apparent reason. Should we ever be distracted from driving? No. Does it happen to the best drivers among us? For certain. I think Volvo realizes this and is doing its best to help. The system just needs a little fine-tuning.

This car seems like a great value at this price, especially compared with the AWD sport-sedan competition.

EXECUTIVE EDITOR ROGER HART: This car remains a kick in the pants to drive. There's nice power and with nary a hint of turbo lag. The AWD was appreciated on the snowy mornings. The traction control keeps the car from getting too far sideways, reminding you that safety is a major component in this car. If you needed a another reminder, the lane-departure warning chirps all the time, and there's the flashing red light warning that you are getting too close to another car.

I like the overall looks of the S60, and the interior is really a delight to behold. Volvo seats remain among my favorite.

SENIOR EDITOR (WEST COAST) MARK VAUGHN: While my Detroit colleagues were employing this car's AWD system through the Midwestern snow, I got a chance to try this same-spec Volvo out here on dry pavement, with an occasional rain shower. My first impression upon driving off in this for a week was that it was, just like the old Courvoisier billboards, smooth. The gear shift was easy to engage, the automatic was seamless, the accelerator pedal was perfectly linear and directed the power easily, and the suspension was smooth and what you'd call--if you worked at a monthly--supple.” It was overwhelmingly easy to drive and so comfortable from behind the wheel that I wanted to negotiate a long-termer just so I wouldn't have to give it up.

Since I think it's required by law that anyone writing about a car like this must compare it to a BMW, I sorted through the spec sheets and found that it fits between the 335i xDrive and the 535i xDrive in almost every measurement. All three cars have 300-hp inline-sixes and AWD, for instance. The 3-series is a half-inch shorter in wheelbase and weighs 31 pounds less, while the 5-series is 5.6 inches longer between the wheels and weighs 421 pounds more. The base price of the Volvo is $5,425 less than that of the 3-series and $14,225 less than the 535i xDrive's price. How you option it beyond that is up to you. Personally, I think I can do without all those safety features. I prefer to pay attention when I drive, but that's just me.

Whether you think the Volvo is up to the sports-sedan handling of either Bimmer is up to you. It depends how hard you push them. On a good mountain road you might favor the BMWs. Just before this car, I drove a 550i xDrive and loved that thing, though I'd have to say that was way above this car segment-wise. The 3-series is very close to it.

What I came away with after a week in the Volvo was that shoppers in this segment really have to try out this car before buying a BMW or an Audi. It's very nice. Especially if you drive on ice.